Refocusing your Success

Weight comes off slowly....sometimes painfully slowly.  (at least if you're making lifestyle changes and not on some crash diet where you start regaining the weight the day after you stop the diet)

I've talked before about my belief that many times, we're not after weight loss so much as we are searching for the path to greater happiness -- and that's a pretty big distinction!

Reason being, if you're looking for weight loss to be your absolute goal -- you won't achieve that goal until you hit the weight you think you need to be.

On the other hand....

If you're looking for:

• enjoying your life more
• feeling more comfortable in your own skin
• feeling more confident
• experiencing less pain
• being healthier

These are things that are relatively independent of achieving your absolute goal weight.  Which means you can start to see differences from the first change you make (recipe for success!). 

**as an aside: you are measurably healthier if you talk a stroll every 1-2 hours throughout the day.  Notice I said STROLL -- power walk not necessary!  Your blood sugar/insulin resistance and stress levels will decrease with 2 minutes of very light walking!!

I added the graphic to the picture above because it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about when I say refocusing your success.  When we focus on numbers on the scale, if they don't move fast enough, we quit too soon because we think what we're doing isn't working.

But there are better measurables!  If you're starting a weight training program, you get measurably stronger from the first day!  As the weight on your stack goes up -- you can see your progress -- quickly enough that even those of you with the attention span of a nat will see progress!!  (when was the last time the scale did that for you??)  And this is the kind of progress that many of us will sustain -- and while we're focused on that, you know what else will happen?  Your clothes will start getting looser!

Okay -- that's an exercise refocus but what if that's not your thing?  What have you always wanted to try?  (for me, one example is kite boarding!)  What would happen if you dove into the something you've always wanted to try?  Let's say you've always wanted to ..... learn how to throw pots.  What are the (weight loss) benefits of throwing pots?  Well, if you're engaged in learning a skill that matters to you, you're going to be less likely to eat out of boredom!  (plus, you can't eat chips while you throw pots!)

**the USDA just posted a report that state women eat 23% of their daily calories as SNACKS!  Men eat 24% of their calories as snacks.  Don't tell me a large percentage of those calories aren't boredom induced!!

Hobbies engage, enrich, get us outside our comfort zone.  They let us meet people that inspire us.

But if you always assume your want to lose weight is just because you're searching for the number on the scale, you may miss the boat on what you're really trying to accomplish.

Maybe...just may...your weight loss will only come when you stop obsessing about calories and figure out what you really want out of life.